president's address. 
147 
Mines and Agriculture. This is nearly double the quantity 
raised in 1893, the amount for that year being 179,288 ozs., 
valued at £651,285. 
Of the amount of gold raised last year the new goldfield of 
Wyalong contributed 9649 ozs., valued at £35,946, and Garan- 
gula 1205 ozs. 
As representing the subject of geography as well as geology at 
the University of Sydne}^, I trust I may be allowed to say a little 
about recent research in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The 
latter region in particular touches very nearly the work of our 
Society, and the problem of the possible biological relations of the 
Australian fauna to that of the old fauna of the Antarctic 
continent of New Zealand and South America has already 
engaged the attention of one of our most active members, Mr. 
Hedley. 
Arctic Exploration. 
At least three expeditions last year were making for the North 
Pole. Nansen, the hero of the " First Crossing of Greenland," 
strong in will and limb, was, and we hope still is, drifting with 
his thirteen men in his wooden ship the Fram in the ice pack, 
from N.E. Siberia towards the strong ocean stream flowing south 
between Spitzbergen and Greenland, to which he trusts for 
carrying his ship over the North Pole. Nansen, when he bade 
good-bye to Dr. John Murray, who had expressed some doubt as 
to whether he should ever see again Nansen's ship, the Fram, 
said, " I think you are wrong. I believe you will welcome me on 
this very deck, and after my return from the Arctic, I will go to 
the South Pole, and then my life's work will be finished." 
The American naval engineer, Lieutenant Peary, with a party 
of fourteen, including Mrs. Peary and her maid, started in July, 
1893, for Whale Sound, on the west coast of Greenland. The 
chief object of the expedition was to complete the map of Green- 
land, but he also intended to reach the highest northern latitude 
available. He landed at Bowdoin Bay on March 6, 1894, and 
started overland with dogs and sledges for Independence Bay. 
